Toilet flush mechanism



p 6, 1969 E. w. swam 3,466,674

TOILET FLUSH MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 5, 1967 INVENTOR. EDWARD M SCHRODER BY & 7

FIG. 3

P 969 z. w. SCH RODER 3,466,674

TOILET FLUSH MECHANISM Filed April 5, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. EDI/VA RD/M 5CHRODER United States Patent O 3,466,674 TOILET FLUSH MECHANISM Edward W. Schroder, 1701 Mayburn, Dearborn, Mich. 48128 Filed Apr. 3, 1967, Ser. No. 627,771 Int. Cl. E03d 1/34, /02, 5/10 US. Cl. 457 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A flushing system for a toilet tank comprising a cylinder-piston means connected to a flushing outlet valve, and a valve means normally operable by an actuating mechanism. A conduit means connects the water inlet for the tank to the valve means and the valve means to the cylinder-piston means. Upon manual actuation of the actuating mechanism, water from the inlet is allowed to flow through the-valve means to move the cylinder relative to the piston thereby lifting the flushing outlet valve off the outlet to flush the toilet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventional flush valves for toilet tanks are usually actuated by a normally rotatable handle. Rotation of this handle results in the swinging movement of a lever mounted inside the tank which is connected through a linkage to a buoyant flushing outlet valve. This outlet valve is then lifted from the water outlet to permit the water in the tank to flow to the toilet bowl so as to effect the flushin g operation.

In copending patent application Ser. No. 429,594, one method of achieving positive flushing with minimum manual effort is described. In this method, a buoyant means is utilized to assist in the lifting of the outlet valve from the flushing outlet. Hydraulic mechanism for actuating flushing systems are already known in the art but have found very little acceptance as the complexity of valve systems required to provide the sensitivity of control and leakproof construction have proven to be very expensive and not foolproof for repetitive operation.

The present invention overcomes these disadvantages by providing a simple hydraulic actuated cylinder-piston means which, upon a short stroke movement, lifts the flushing outlet valve from its seat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In this invention, the hydraulic flushing system utilizes water pressure that is readily available from the water inlet connection to the tank and is released through a manually operable mechanism, preferably a push button, that opens an interconnected valve means in the system. The released water pressure actuates a cylinder-piston means comprising a cylinder moving relative to a stationary piston to lift a flushing outlet valve linked to the cylinder off its seat in the filled water tank.

The apparatus of this invention can be readily installed in commercially available toilet tanks, thus, replacing the conventional lever type mechanical actuating mechanism with a short stroke push button mounted on the outside of the tank and a valve means mounted on the inside of the tank.

Manual movement of the push button provides nearly instantaneous flushing action as the available water pressure is released by the valve means to actuate the cylinderpiston means. When the push button is released, the water flow is interrupted by the closing valve means to cause the cylinder-piston means to return to its original position, thereby allowing the flushing outlet valve to 3,466,674 Patented Sept. 16, 1969 drop to close the outlet so that the tank will refiill with water through the inlet valve in a conventional manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURE 1 is a front view of a toilet tank with most of the front wall cut away to depict the flushing system of this invention with the flushing outlet valve in a closed position and the cylinder-piston means supported from the water overflow pipe.

FIGURE 2 is a partial top view of the tank shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the actuating mechanism and valve means of this invention taken along line 33 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 in an elevational view showing the cylinderpiston means of this invention in a raised position and depicting an alternate mounting means therefor and a different conventional flushing outlet valve.

FIGURE 5 is a frontal view of the flushing system incorporating a further embodiment of this invention in which the cylinder-piston means is mounted from the valve bushing, and

FIGURE 6 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG- URE 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGURE 1, there can be seen a conventional toilet tank 11 for a toilet having a cover 12 and a flushing system 13 which will be described in greater detail hereafter.

A conventional water inlet pipe 14 is mounted in the tank 11 to supply water under pressure to the tank 11. A water flushing outlet 15 at the bottom of the tank 11 is connected by a pipe 16 to the toilet bowl (not shown) which is controlled by a balloon float 17 that is adapted to rise and fall with the water level in the tank 11 to control the water supply.

The water flushing outlet 15 is provided with a valve seat 18 which is attached to an overflow pipe 19 that rises in the tank 11. A flushing outlet valve 21, in this instance, has a fastening portion 22 which is pivotally attached to the overflow pipe 19 and also has a main body 23 that is adapted to seat on the valve seat 18 to close the flushing outlet 15.

The flushing outlet valve 21 may be formed from a rubber-like compound which is open at the bottom and adapted to float in the tank of water after it is dislodged from the seat 18 and adapted to seat itself after the water level has fallen.

A manually operable actuating mechanism 24, a button assembly in this instance, is attached to the tank 11 by a valve bushing 25 having a necked down portion 26 extending through an opening 27 in the wall to the outside of the tank 11 as best seen in FIGURES 2 and 3. The necked down portion 26 has its outside diameter threaded to receive a counter bored escutcheon 28 from outside the tank 11 to hold the actuating mechanism 24 firmly in place. The valve bushing 25 also houses a valve means 29 in a bore 31 which extends axially through its entire length. The bore 31 has a counterbore 32 at the end extending into the tank 11 which is threaded to receive a connector 33 in one portion thereof. A washer 34, which is disposed in another portion of the counterbore 32, is held in position by the end of the connector 33.

A button 35 is received in the counterbored escutcheon 28 with a stem 36 integrally formed with the button 35 extending into the bore 31 of the valve bushing 25 and providing a relative loose fit between the outside diam-. eter of the stem 36 and the inside diameter of the bore 31. A value spring 37 encompasses the stem 36 and is disposed in the counterbored escutcheon 28. A smaller diameter valve stem 38 is in axial alignment with the stem 36 and extends through the bore 31 into the counterbore 32. At the end of the valve stem 38 is a chamfered valve head 39 which is maintained in engagement with the washer 34 by the action of the spring 37 to retain the valve means 29 in a normally closed position.

A conduit 41 or flexible hose connects the connector 33 to the inlet pipe 14 which is provided with a pipe fitting 42 to place the valve means 29 in communication with the water inlet connection to the tank 11 as best seen in FIGURE 1. A second connector 43 is screwed through the Wall of the valve bushing 25 so as to be in communication with the bore 31 between the washer 34 and the stem 36 as seen best in FIGURE 3. A relief hole 44 is provided through the wall of the bushing 25 for the bore 31 between the connector 43 and the wall of the tank 11.

A cylinder-piston means 45 is installed in the central portion of the tank 11 in approximate alignment with the flushing outlet valve 21. In FIGURE 1, the outlet flush valve 21 shown is a conventional flapper valve pivotally mounted to the overflow pipe 19. The cylinder-piston means 45 comprises a fixed piston 46 extending vertically from a support bracket 47 which, in the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1, is mounted on the overflow pipe 19. The piston 46 has a center bore 48 extending its entire length with a connector 49 threaded into the lower end of the bore 48. A conduit 51 or flexible hose connects the connector 49 of the piston 46 with the connector 43 of the valve means 29 as best seen in FIGURE 1. A freely rotatable hollow cylinder 52 with the upper end closed is slideably mounted over the piston 46. The cylinder 52 has a hook 53 attached to its outside surface to which one end of a chain 54 or link is attached. The other end of the chain 54 is attached to the flushing outlet valve 21 at the end opposite of its pivoted fastening portion 22.

Relief ports 55 are cut into the wall of the cylinder 4'] at the bottom thereof.

In FIGURE 4 is shown an alternate mounting arrangement for the cylinder-piston means 45. In case the cylinder piston means 45 cannot be conveniently mounted on or supported from the overflow pipe 19 in the tank 11, a bracket 56 as shown in FIGURE 4 may be installed. This bracket 56 has a vertical portion 57 and a horizontal portion 58, the latter having a hole 59 through which the bottom of the piston 46 can be attached by peening over the edge thereof or by any other fastening means. The vertical portion 57 has its upper end shaped into a hanger 61 that can be hung over the wall of the tank 11. A set screw 62 may be provided to secure the bracket 56 to the wall. Also in FIGURE 4 is shown a conventional ball valve 21a, similar in function to the flapper outlet valve 21 but operative by vertical movement. A stem 63 may extend from the valve 21a through a bushing 64 attached to the bracket 56 to maintain the ball valve 21a in vertical alignment. The chain 54, in this instance, connects the stem 63 to the cylinder 52.

A third embodiment of this invention is shown in FIG- URES and 6. In this embodiment, the cylinder-piston means 45 is mounted adjacent to the valve bushing 25 by a bracket 65 which is fastened to the bushing 25 by a nut 66 as best seen in FIGURE 6. A lever 67 has one end pivotally connected to the valve bushing 25 by a pivot pin 68 and its other end in vertical alignment with the flushing outlet valve 21. This other end of the lever 67 is attached to the valve 21 by chain 54. The top of the cylinder 52 is provided with a retaining slot 69 ually to actuate the valve means 29. As seen in FIGURE 3, depressing the button 35 will cause the valve head 39 on the valve stem 36 to move out of engagement with the Washer 34 to allow for the flow of water from the inlet pipe 14 through conduit 41 to the bore 31 of the valve means 29 and from the valve means 29 through conduit 51 to the piston 46.

The water, which is usually at normal city water pressure of 30 to 40 psi, will flow through the bore 48 in the stationary piston 46 to hit the inside of the upper surface of the hollow cylinder 52. The cylinder 52 slideably mounted on the piston 46 will be lifted vertically almost instantaneously until the pressure is relieved through the relief ports 55 at the bottom of the cylinder 52 as best seen in FIGURE 4. The linkage means, either the chain 54 or lever 68 and chain 54, connecting the cylinder 52 with the flushing outlet valve 21 or 21a, pulls the valve 21, 21a off the seat 18 when the cylinder 52 is lifted by the water pressure.

When the button 35 is released, the valve spring 37 pushes the valve heat 39 back into sealing engagement with the washer 34 to shut off the water flow. As the water level falls in the tank 11, the balloon float 17 will drop until it opens the water inlet valve in a conventional manner. The flushing outlet valve 21, 21a will be pulled down onto the valve seat 18 after most of the Water has run out of the tank 11 and before the water inlet valve is opened.

In the embodiment depicted in FIGURES 5 and 6, depressing of the button 35 will permit water under pressure to pass from conduit 41 through the open valve means 29 and from the valve means 29 through conduit 51 to the piston 46 mounted on bracket 65. This, in turn, will cause the lever 68 to swing upwardly about its pin 67 thereby displacing the flushing outlet valve 21 from the valve seat 18 through the interconnecting chain 54.

The advantages of the flushing system of this invention are manifold. The valve means 29 and its interconnected push button flushing actuating mechanism are easily instal ed in any conventional toilet tank without special tools. Although the water is under pressure, no leakage around the button 35 will result as any water that bypasses the connector 43 will be ejected through the relief hole 44.

The main advantage of the third embodiment shown in FIGURES 5 and 6 is that the entire components of the flushing system 13 can be installed as an integral unit since the actuating mechanism 24 and the cylinder-piston means 45 are pre-assembled by bracket 65. Also, as the cylinder-piston means 45 is mounted in close proximity to the pivot pin 67 at one end of the lever 68, only a relative short stroke of the cylinder 52 is required to cause the displacement of the flushing outlet valve 21 by the swinging movement of the other end of the lever 68. By increasing the diameter of the cylinder-piston means 45, very low water pressure is required to effect the short stroke movement of the cylinder 52. Further the conduits 41 and 51 are substantially shortened due to the close proximity of the piston-cylinder means 45 to the valve means 29.

The cylinder-piston means 45 of this invention requires no seals or complex controls as the piston 46 remains stationary at all times and the cylinder 52 rides upward on the piston 46 when the water pressure is actuated. Upon interruption of the water flow, the freely rotatable cylinder 52 slides downward to its original position on the bracket 47, 56, or 65 due to gravity. Moving parts are kept to a minimum to improve reliability for repetitive operation.

Further the cylinder-piston means 45 can be readily mounted from the overflow pipe 19 as seen in FIGURE 1 or be supported from the tank structure with special bracket 54 as seen in FIGURE 4 or mounted from the valve bushing 25 as seen in FIGURE 5. Also, any type flushing outlet valve 21, 21a can be adapted to fit the flushing system 13 of this invention.

The piston 46 and cylinder 52 are preferably fabricated from a plastic such as molded acetal resin which is nonsticking and requires no lubrication. If the chain 54 is too loose or the cylinder-piston means 45 does not remain in vertical alignment, the flushing action will still be effected as the cylinder 52 is free to rotate during its vertical movement with respect to the piston 46 to prevent the hanging up of the chain 54.

The pressure required to operate the flushing system 13 of this invention is very low and, in case the water pressure drops substantially, effective flushing action can still be obtained as the cylinder-piston means 45 can be increased in size so that very little pressure is required to slide the cylinder 52 relative to the piston 46. Thus, this system 13 can also be installed in self-contained toilet systems such as cisterns.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact constructions shown and described but that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a flushing apparatus including a water tank having a flushing outlet, a flush valve for closing said outlet, a water inlet for said tank, a flush valve actuating mechanism attached to said tank, a water valve means operatively connected to said actuating mechanism and operative to move from a normally closed position to an open position, a bracket means attached to said water valve means, a fixed piston having a bore and being supported in a generally vertical position by said bracket means at a location adjacent to said water valve means, a cylinder slideably mounted on said piston, linkage means interconnecting said water valve means with said flush valve, said linkage means being engaged by said cylinder, conduit means interconnecting said water inlet with said water valve means and said water valve means with the bore of said piston, said water valve means moving from its normally closed position to the open position upon actuation of said flush valve actuating mechanism to allow water to flow from said water inlet to said bore of said piston to cause said cylinder to slide vertically under the force of the water thereby displacing said flush valve from said outlet through said linkage means.

2. The flushing apparatus of claim 1 and which is further characterized in that said linkage means comprises a pivotable mounted lever, said lever having a portion thereof in a contiguous relationship with said cylinder and having one end portion connected to said flush valve, vertical sliding movement of said cylinder causing swinging movement of said lever thereby displacing said flush valve from said outlet.

3. The flushing apparatus of claim 2 and which is further characterized in that said lever having the other end portion pivotally connected to said water valve means, said portion of said lever in a contiguous relationship with said cylinder being intermediate said end portions and being maintained in said contiguous relationship with said cylinder by a retaining means carried by said cylinder.

4. The flushing apparatus of claim 1 and which is further characterized in that said cylinder has relief ports at the bottom thereof to limit vertical movement of said cylinder thereby preventing said cylinder from sliding off said fixed piston.

5. The flushing apparatus of claim 1 and which is further characterized in that said water valve means comprises a valve stem positioned in a bore of a valve bushing, said bore in said valve bushing having one portion thereof in communication with said conduit means connected to said inlet and another portion thereof in communication with the bore of said piston, a Washer being disposed in the bore of said valve bushing intermediate said end portions, said valve stem having a valve head in abutment with said washer to maintain said water valve means in a closed position.

6. The flushing apparatus of claim 5 and which is further characterized in that said flush valve actuating mechanism includes a depressable push button, said push button connected to said valve stem, said valve head being moved out of abutment with said washer upon depressing of said button to place said water valve means in an open position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,341,116 2/1944 Owens 4-41 2,534,524 12/1950 Molloy 467 2,587,901 3/1952 Robinson 441 2,740,129 4/1956 Braswell 467 2,760,204 8/1956 Joanis 441 2,838,765 6/1958 Hosking 4-41 3,088,122 5/1963 Pore 467 FOREIGN PATENTS 574,525 4/ 1959 Canada.

LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 467 

